Chances of a white Christmas? Good this year

If you are dreaming of a white Christmas, then you are in luck.

Forecasters said chances are good that the ground will be covered and there will be enough fresh powder to whiten the landscape. The forecast calls for snow Friday and Saturday.

“I think it’s a very good chance,” said Bryce Williams, forecaster for the National Weather Service in Spokane.

A new Pacific storm system likely will bring snow to the region starting on Thursday night and continuing off and on through Saturday.

The snowiest period should arrive on Friday when 1 to 2 inches are expected.

Forecasters cautioned that expectations can change, but the white Christmas ideal looked good as of Wednesday evening.

Travelers can take heart in the fact that heavy accumulations are not likely.

North Idaho might see 2 to 4 inches. The mountains may get 6 inches.

But if your version of a white Christmas is defined by falling snow on the day itself, that might be a problem.

Conditions are expected to start drying out on Christmas Day when a 20 percent chance of snow gives way to partly sunny skies and dropping temperatures after nightfall.

The Spokane-raised crooner Bing Crosby knew what he was singing about in his legendary “White Christmas” song.

Statistically, the Spokane region has about a 50 to 60 percent chance of a white Christmas in any given year, according to a weather service analysis.

This year, high temperatures leading up to Christmas should be in the lower 30s with lows in the 20s, then falling to the teens on Saturday night.

Sunday brings colder air with a high in the middle 20s and a low around 7.

The cold weather is not expected to turn frigid as temperatures are likely to moderate early next week.